Yes, that PC cleanup app you saw on TV at 3am is a waste

Why these apps are awful and what you really need to do about your slow PC.

Maybe you've seen the ads on the Internet or on TV in the wee hours of the morning. They make lofty promises: get rid of blue screens and error messages! Increase your speed! Clean up your system! But even when these PC cleanup apps aren't just malware in disguise, the things they're doing for your PC are often dubious. Many either replicate tasks that can be handled by built-in utilities or do things that could cause more problems than they solve.

To highlight just why you and your loved ones should never let these applications anywhere near your PC, we picked one that we have recently seen ads for: MyCleanPC. It's the archetypal Windows cleanup app—and you probably shouldn't install it.

Intimidation tactics

The standard ad for a PC cleanup app follows the same basic format as this ad from MyCleanPC.com.

These ads for PC cleanup products often follow the same basic formula: appeal to people with slow or buggy PCs, throw in a few shots of an operating system that looks kind of like Windows, tack on some "customer testimonials," and offer a free diagnosis that will make all the problems go away.

Once they've offered an easy solution and encouraged you to download and install the software, their next play is to make it seem like everything is wrong with your PC. Installing the free MyCleanPC scanner and running it using the default settings resulted in 1,020 "issues" on a PC with a week-old, barely used clean install of Windows 8 running on it.

Enlarge/ "Your PC is so messed up, it would take us less time to tell you what isn't wrong with it."

Andrew Cunningham

It turns out the threshold for what constitutes an "issue" is absurdly low. Each and every cookie and cache stored within Google Chrome—files that are completely normal and are in no way inherently problematic—are all counted as individual issues. Every individual fragmented file on your drive? Also an issue. Individual registry errors? Issues. Prepare for liberal use of scary red Xs and big warning labels hoping to further incite user panic.

Enlarge/ Adding insult to injury, MyCleanPC appears to hook into the built-in Windows defrag utility, which means that the program isn't even doing anything that your computer can't already do by itself.

Andrew Cunningham

The program is only too happy to identify all of these "issues" for you, but actually fixing them requires you to cough up $39.99 for a one-year license. These are business practices purpose-built to draw in especially worried or too-trusting users, with the goal of terrifying them about the run-down state of their PC before extracting money from their wallets.

So what should I do instead?

Many PC cleaning programs are designed to make your computer look more broken than it is and to extract money from users who do not understand that. To many of you, I'm sure that's a given. Luckily, the things these PC cleanup applications do (or say they do) are things that can be done just as easily with free tools, some of which are actually built into Windows itself.

If your PC is tossing up error messages and crashing all the time, the chances are good that your needs go further than what some sham of a cleanup app can fix for you. So what's the right way to handle a slow PC, or one that's acting strangely?

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

It goes without saying that you should do a full scan of your hard drive with whatever anti-virus product you're using (I think Microsoft's solution, which is built-in to Windows 8 and freely downloadable for Windows 7, is fine, but your tastes may differ). If your computer is already infected, it might need a little extra help.

I've had excellent luck over the years with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, a free security scanning product that does a decent job of cleaning infections that more conventional software can't quite scrub away. Think of it as getting a second opinion about your computer's health.

Let me Google that for you

Getting blue or black screens of death? Seeing particular error message pop-ups? There's no shame in turning to a search engine for help. Just a couple of months ago I cleaned a particularly stubborn infection from a family member's computer after Googling an error message I kept seeing. Neither Malwarebytes nor Microsoft Security Essentials could get rid of the infection entirely, but it was a common enough infection that another anti-virus vendor had issued a handy tool to destroy the malware.

Spring cleaning

If your PC is coming up clean but just seems slow, it might be time to try removing some apps. Installing an applications or plugin that you actually want can sometimes install applications and plugins that you never asked for, and these superfluous system tray icons and browser toolbars have a way of adding up over time. I hesitate to recommend that you uninstall things indiscriminately just because you don't know what they are… but you should consider it (and when in doubt, use the previous trick).

You should also run Windows' built-in Disk Cleanup tool to get rid of old temporary files. Defragmentation can also help if you have a spinning hard drive, but since Windows Vista, disk defragmentation is set to happen in the background on a schedule by default so it isn't really the go-to recommendation it once was.

Check for hardware problems

If you've tried all of the above and your PC is still acting strangely, it's time to start looking beyond software problems—it might be that you've got a bad stick of RAM or a failing hard drive that's causing all of your trouble. Luckily for you, we've got a handy guide to help you diagnose most common hardware problems.

The nuclear option: Reinstall Windows

If your hardware is fine, your other PC cleanup efforts have failed, and your computer is still acting strangely, it's time to resort to scorched-earth tactics. Reinstalling Windows is a gigantic pain, granted, but it's also the best way to guarantee a clean system, especially if you've been afflicted by some kind of rootkit.

We've got a pair of guides—one for Windows 7 and one for Windows 8—that will take you all the way through the reinstallation process if you have to do it from scratch. Chances are your PC also came with some kind of recovery media or restore partition that you can use in a pinch.

In either case you'll still need to take care of your own data, which you'll want to move to an external drive before wiping your operating system. You'll also want to be very careful when restoring this backed-up data to your fresh Windows installation—scan everything on the external drive with your anti-virus software of choice and Malwarebytes before moving it back to guard against re-infection.

Andrew Cunningham
Andrew has a B.A. in Classics from Kenyon College and has over five years of experience in IT. His work has appeared on Charge Shot!!! and AnandTech, and he records a weekly book podcast called Overdue. Twitter@AndrewWrites

184 Reader Comments

All you need to do to clean up your boot programs so Windows loads/runs faster is type "msconfig" into the start bar and press enter. Make a backup restore point, because it is possible to turn off critical parts of the OS from this menu.

Edit: Forgot to mention Autoruns. It has nothing to do with viruses but with Autoruns you can control or eliminate most of the crap running in the background that slows down your PC. Another phenomenal tool from SysInternals (now owned by Microsoft). And free!

For those who do have a grasp of what they do and don't want on their computer and don't mind doing a bit of application configuration, you can use CCleaner, which is free and I'm thinking performs all of the functions these scam programs do, and more.

Of course this is outside of the realm of hardware or malware issues. This is just for a generally clean PC, and even then I only usually use it on computers that I know are loaded with crap.

I understand people being too afraid to try and cleanup their system and wanting a product that does it for them without them having to learn something about their computer. Going through the already existing system tools and learning what to install, what not to install, what should be running, wouldn't shouldn't be running is a daunting task for the unfamiliar or fearful or unwilling to learn. This is one of the reasons people take their car to a place to have the oil changed or for simple maintenance.

One of the free programs out there that does exactly what this other program is doing is called CCleaner by pirisoft.com. Been using it for years to do simple registry, cache and temp file cleaning.

One of the biggest issues I see in the industry (I'm a tech for an MSP) for workstations is the amount of garbage users collect in the form of toolbars and background items. Between utilities find that people want to use that install something else and the cutsey stuff that people install it can be quite a mess. Lots of programs (CCleaner included) ask if you want to install some additional piece of software or toolbar for the program. The only useful one I ever saw was for Chrome and only if I hadn't installed it on a system yet and intended to. Otherwise, decline that stuff. All it does it sit in the background or slow your system or browser. Same applies for industry standard programs like Adobe Acrobat or even Reader. No, you don't need the little quick start tray program running. That and everybody has started putting updates in startup - google, adobe, java, etc.

As Forest_GS pointed out, msconfig is handy for killing startup items. Nothing in the startup list is necessary for for your system to start but something things should start like your anti-virus program. I really wish the printer manufactures would stop making system tray program utilities for their printers - you don't need them and they are more annoying than useful. I will also use msconfig to kill certain services as well. Again, some 3rd party programs will have their updater service running and can add up quickly.

Another free utility I have found useful is HiJackThis originally through Trend Micro. It isn't for the faint of heart but will show you all those browser helper objects and other garbage that might be starting up that won't show up in msconfig. Handy when you are trying to rid certain malware. Some other decent malware removal tools are the free version of malware bytes and combo fix. Have come up against some nasty malware where the only solution for total removal was the re-install.

The anti-virus/malware offering from Microsoft (MSE - Microsoft) is actually pretty decent. It is light-weight on the system resources and does a decent job with virus and some malware. It isn't perfect on the malware side but that is why I suppliment with malware bytes (pay for pro if you want pro-active scanning). MSE will go onto Windows XP but only the 32bit version. All versions of Vista, Win 7 and 8. I also saw it on a server 2008 the other day at a new client we took in. I hadn't thought that they were offering a server install but apparently they are now. I will stick with the corp/centralized versions of AV/AM software for the moment for management reasons but I like it better than Norton, McAfee and a lot of the other individual AV programs out there. I'm still waiting for one really good AV/AM combination program for both servers and workstations - it has yet to be made.

I've found CCleaner helpful, and it's free. Microsoft used to offer a free online tool (live one care I think it was) that was also useful in fixing cranky old windows installs, but it's no longer available.

I like articles like this. When something goes wrong with a family members PC my phone rings. I bet lots of us here are their families tech support person. I read through this and immediately shared it to my Facebook for the benefit of my to often uninformed family.

It's great that you've shared this guide Andrew, but most want an all-in-one solution so that they don't have to download multiple other pieces of software, learn how to use them, learn about the built-in tools, etc.

That's why I recommend making an investment in a good degaussing wand. Not only does it wipe out all viruses and malware in one shot, but you're forever off-the-hook for doing freebie computer repair for the family.

I've found msconfig helpful. Look in startup and decheck most stuff except your AV software and anything you want to load on starup. You can always recheck/restart disabled stuff if you find something isn't working the way you want. Changes take place with rebooting the system. Everything else will startup with demand.

Using Win7 I haven't found the need to shut down services. They seem to stop themselves when not needed, but I could be wrong. Defrag. is automatic. Disk cleaner can be automated or run manually. Good AV software and/or MSE. (I run MSE to scan on a schedule and 3rd party AV ongoing.) AV updating hourly and scanning daily.

Haven't had to reinstall under this regime and the system seems fast at all times. Bob's my uncle!

I recently had to fix a computer for a relative and I hit a new problem: five years of playing web games had filled her java cache with 32gb and more individual files than I care to let her laptop count.

Anyway, just posting to say that this software might be crap but I could use a lesson in what normal people are doing to their computers these days because I'm clearly out of touch.

I find combo fix to be my nuke. http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/downloa ... fix/dl/12/I also use portable scanners like Super anti spyware.I use Ccleaner to remove start up entry's or msconfig.Malwarebytes is a good tool as stated here, but requires an uninstaller when your done using it to get it out properly.

But like every tool none of them are 100%. So far combo fix has been the ultimate tool. Some of the tools are free but will try to get you to subscribe or install unnecessary tool bars make sure you unchecked those boxes.

FWIW I've been running Malwarebytes Pro alongside my regular antivirus for about a year now, in response to having gotten infected with malware while running the AV alone. I haven't had any problems since installing it (not that there's any way to say I would have otherwise), and it does occasionally block a suspect web site. It's often on sale at Newegg for under $20, with no renewal fees.

For those who do have a grasp of what they do and don't want on their computer and don't mind doing a bit of application configuration, you can use CCleaner, which is free and I'm thinking performs all of the functions these scam programs do, and more.

Of course this is outside of the realm of hardware or malware issues. This is just for a generally clean PC, and even then I only usually use it on computers that I know are loaded with crap.

I'll second this. I've been using CCleaner in conjunction with Malwarebytes. Excellent 1 -2 punch.

I've got a stick with a bunch of basic programs to help clean the PCs of the non techies in the family (well actually two but I've yet to use the linux stick).Contents:Crap cleaner for general cruft removalMalwarebytes anti-malware as the main removal tool.HijackThis and Spybot Search & Destroy for some extra help identifying junk.combofix plus a bunch of scripts for specific threats.unlocker which can be dangerous since it removes any blocks on a file so you can for example delete it.Two random virus scanners which get updated/added when I'm called in.A list of numeric IP adresses (haven't had to use it so it is most likely out of date).Some other programs that I've never used.

But the most important thing in the tool box for me has been education. This to the point that the people in the family who are most vulnerable have learned a habit of saying no to anything and either (if having seen me do it often enough) deal with possible problems because they blocked a valid/legal program or call some of the more tech savvy people in the family. Most proud moment was when my father refused an e-mail virus, unwittingly sent to him by a friend, access to the internet for one or more minutes (as in pressing away the request access every second) before calling for help.

So what's the right way to handle a slow PC, or one that's acting strangely?

Buy a Mac.

Use Linux. (note: I'm being facetious to the above suggestion, I use Linux, my mum uses Linux [admined by me], but I wouldn't be inclined to put my brother or sister anywhere near it).

Or buy a tablet—iPad, Android, or otherwise—or a Chromebook, or any sort of "post-PC" device that is dramatically more foolproof than Windows, OS X or Ubuntu.

This thread seems destined for trolling, but my two cents for dealing with friends and relatives who cling to Windows XP for dear life: run all the OS updates, clean out the startup items and max out the RAM. Beyond that point there's not much you can do other than buying a new computer. (In which case, see the above.)

Using Win7 I haven't found the need to shut down services. They seem to stop themselves when not needed, but I could be wrong. Defrag. is automatic. Disk cleaner can be automated or run manually. Good AV software and/or MSE. (I run MSE to scan on a schedule and 3rd party AV ongoing.) AV updating hourly and scanning daily.

Haven't had to reinstall under this regime and the system seems fast at all times. Bob's my uncle!

Yep for me too Windows 7 seems to "just work" with no need to tweak or micromanage anything (apart getting rid of OEM crapware, but that's another story).

The only service I felt the need to disable is Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service.

A couple months ago my girlfriend's HD was running out of space, and lurking around I found this 10+ gb folder:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\microsoft\media player\art cache\localmls

filled with several hundred thousands jpeg of album art thumbnails.

It's a cache created by that service, and for some buggy reason it seems it's never flushed.Googling around I did read of people finding 70+ gb of jpegs in it @_@Don't know if it's been fixed but since I don't use WMP I just keep it disabled.